CVE-2006-4710 in FeedDemon
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in NewsGator FeedDemon before 2.0.0.25 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via an Atom 1.0 feed, as demonstrated by certain test cases of the James M. Snell Atom 1.0 feed reader test suite.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-4710 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting NewsGator FeedDemon version 2.0.0.25 and earlier. This security weakness stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's handling of Atom 1.0 feed data. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the feed reader processes Atom 1.0 formatted content, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary web scripts or HTML code directly into the application's user interface. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it leverages legitimate feed content to deliver malicious payloads, making detection more challenging for end users and security monitoring systems. The vulnerability was demonstrated through test cases from the James M. Snell Atom 1.0 feed reader test suite, which provided concrete proof of concept scenarios where attackers could exploit the flaw to execute unauthorized code in the context of a victim's browser session. This particular weakness falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is classified as a fundamental web application security vulnerability that enables attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it could potentially allow attackers to steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious websites. The flaw specifically affects the feed reader's Atom 1.0 feed processing capabilities, where the application fails to properly sanitize or escape user-supplied data before rendering it within the application's user interface. This creates a persistent security risk for users who rely on FeedDemon for consuming RSS and Atom feeds from potentially untrusted sources. The vulnerability demonstrates the classic characteristics of a reflected XSS attack pattern where malicious content is injected into a web application and then reflected back to users, but in this case it occurs through feed processing rather than traditional web form submissions. The attack requires no special privileges or access to the target system, as the malicious code is delivered through the feed content itself, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users regularly consume feeds from external sources. From an attacker perspective, this vulnerability aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework's technique T1566, specifically the sub-technique T1566.001 for "Phishing with Spoofed Credentials", as it enables attackers to create malicious feeds that can compromise user sessions. The security implications are compounded by the fact that FeedDemon users often access feeds from various sources including public news feeds, blogs, and other content providers, creating numerous potential attack vectors. The vulnerability represents a failure in the application's security by design principles, as it does not implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms to protect against malicious feed content. Users who regularly consume feeds from untrusted sources are particularly vulnerable, as the attack can occur without any user interaction beyond simply viewing the malicious feed content. The exploitation process involves crafting an Atom 1.0 feed containing malicious script tags that are then processed by the vulnerable FeedDemon application, resulting in the execution of unauthorized code within the user's browser context. This creates a significant risk for enterprise environments where users may be accessing feeds from external sources, potentially leading to data breaches or unauthorized access to sensitive information. The vulnerability's impact is further exacerbated by the fact that it affects a widely used feed reader application, meaning that a successful exploitation could compromise numerous user sessions across different organizations. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to FeedDemon version 2.0.0.25 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the XSS vulnerability, and establishing feed filtering policies that prevent the consumption of feeds from untrusted sources. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of consuming feeds from unknown or unverified sources and should be encouraged to maintain updated versions of their feed reader applications to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. The incident highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications and demonstrates how even seemingly benign applications like feed readers can become attack vectors when they fail to properly sanitize user-supplied content.